tricky

One thing I don't understand is without tape how do you build up a grip to an intermediate size (assuming there isn't a different grip for every possible size), or indeed stretch it out to narrow it slightly (without it springing back to its natural shape)?

I have some good news for you. You don't putt with the head cover. Although I suppose for those of us with brittle confidence related to the aesthetics of our equipment it might undermine how we play. Perhaps Tiger should ditch the dodgy headcovers and get some serious sober ones in black, to match his new mood of contrition? He'd surely play better? Personally I play with a set of generic headcovers so all of them match and the originals don't get lost or worn. I'm a mediocre player. Which headcovers should I be using to improve my game? ....or should I just get out of the damn pro-shop and onto the practice ground?

I'm out on the course today, without having hit a ball for 4 months. I'm expecting it to be messy.

I've tended to find that people on here don't seem to consider the tour-w a proper wedge. Why? It's a cast stainless construction. This means that it tends to wear less quickly than the often recommended wedges on here. I love the tour-w's. They feel well balanced, have more feedback than you might imagine, and are perfectly capable of spinning the ball in a controlled fashion. The only negative that I would offer personally is that the hard stainless groove edges tend to shred the ball cover as much as the most aggressive wedges. I bought one new and five others second hand. The second hand ones vary from pristine to clearly marked faces. They all seem to perform to the exact same level. I've had them since the start of the summer, with no obvious change in characteristics. I fully expect they will last me years, as in multiples of.

Thank you for that. I've been deliberating between the ping 703 and the Golf Pride......but these sharpro's are so much cheaper that I'm prepared to give them a go until the end of the season. Now all I have to decide is which colour or colours.........

Look, I'm really no expert - as my handicap will prove.....but..... ....it seems to me that your approaches are inaccurate because they are from distance, due to your lack of length. I'm not sure that moving from cavity backs to blades is the answer to that. Look at your stance and alignment as well, there should be little problem hitting a cavity back straight - and what you want to do almost all of the time is hit the ball straight. You need to be looking at some physical drills to strengthen your core, and to look at your swing to make sure that you are maximising the strength, flexibility, and speed, that you have. Now clearly at age thirteen you have some physical development to achieve yet. Good swing fundamentals at this stage will give you a better foundation than new clubs, that will almost certainly need to be at least re-shafted when you improve and grow further......and I speak as someone who didn't pick up a club until my mid-twenties. The starter set I had, I used to hit beautifully. I was then given an expensive set of top end clubs that suited me horrendously. I got worse, rather than better, for ten years. Putting them in the bin was the best thing I ever did. If I could have those ten years back I'd be a different player now. Getting down to single figures is mostly about the player, not the equipment - with the one proviso that you need to get equipment, particularly shafts, that suit you as your swing develops. ....and cut yourself some slack, and be a little patient. It's not natural to be a scratch golfer it your age, it's very much the exception. Work on your physique and swing, and be reasonable in your expectations based on your physical attributes. If you swing nicely, you have years of enjoying the game ahead of you. If you look to solve every problem with a new club then you are looking forward to madness and financial ruin. .....probably.... P.S. A 220 yard drive is not too shabby. I measured out a very nice drive on an uphill hole at my course during the week. It was only 220 yards, and it was beyond where most of our members get to. A lot of the time people don't hit the ball anything like as far as they think - and when they do it's because of their swing, not their clubs....

Good call. Most of the other suggestions are hardly underrated, when they are internationally well known. I'd like to add Benross (lovely hybrids - I game the V6 trimass Escapes) for their woods, and MD Golf for their wedges.

I'm biased. I love mine. I think it works. It's what I say every time I'm asked . Try one.

Try out a Rife Antigua. It's my wand of choice. Last time out was my best ever putting round (34), on my way to an 84 overall (great for me) after only my 7th round with it. This included a 35 foot uphill putt for birdie at the eighteenth (in front of a gallery). Died straight into the middle of the hole. I never make those....but what more impressed me was just how good all of my putts were for length. The Rife really gets the ball rolling beautifully. You'd have to prise it out of my cold dead hands, and all that.... ....get the right length and you can adjust it for lie, it has a milled face and reduced loft that gets the ball rolling without hopping, and is based on the classic Anser shape. It's a beautiful putter, finished with a nice grip. Still it's all about what suits you. Try one.

Go and try some Ping S57's. I find them ridiculously easy to hit for a players iron, and they're pretty easy to work - even for a player of my handicap (now that I'm working on a new swing). Most people agree that they have a nice feel for a cast stainless (last a bit better) cavity players iron.; They're not a forged blade, but a decent half way compromise, a lovely top line, and a slight offset. I've got S58's (the previous model before the improved S57's), and I've tried S57's. The difference isn't great, but the fact that the S57's also match my tour-w wedges in looks, means that I'll be upgrading when I can get a set at a decent second hand price. An advantage with ping clubs is that you can get fitted for them, and then buy them off the shelf, or second hand, to your fitting. They will also adjust them free to your fitting - at any point in the clubs lifetime (if you take them back to the factory - Gainsborough here in the UK), even if you didn't have them from new. Great service, great lasting clubs. Of course you might feel better with something else, but at least give them a try.

That's my problem with the gamers. It doesn't take many wedge shots to ruin the ball. I've also played B330-rx's and found they marked easily......so I've gone back to my top flight z-balatas. Not long, but a soft feel and a tough cover. I can get 18 holes out of one, rather than four or five. I don't feel the (marginal) loss of distance hurts me too badly, as I'm still normally about a club longer than our average member. In the winter I'll use a longer, harder, ball.

I love rife putters. I have an Antigua and a Two-bar hybrid. I've only used the Antigua in anger so far (the two-bar hybrid I got a cracking deal on, and bought to try given that it's a favourite of many people). I putt like a dream with it (compared to how things were going before). I don't really fancy the idea of the IMO, personally.......but you know the deal - it's all personal. Get one in your hands and see how it works for you. I do know that you wont be dissappointed with the quality, finish, and feel of a Rife putter.

Something that I am currently working on, and seems to be helping me a lot, is focusing on the ball . It's quite a weird feeling the first time you see the dark patch where the ball once was, but it sure helps you make a much better strike of the ball more often. Irrespective of your swing speed, swing plane, stance, hand position, or body turn, this helps you make the best strike. It also helps to keep your head still. A friend who plays off four, with the weirdest three quarter punchy swing playing a consistent fade, has this principle as the cornerstone of his game. He practiced by putting a tee in the ground, and focused on hitting the head of the tee. He makes the most beautiful contact with the ball, and he knows his swing - hence the low numbers.

We have deep rough and copses of trees. It's all good.

It's important to take on energy and to loosen up your muscles. I normally go with a chilli and chips (not your American chips, our british ones), and a pint or two of the guest bitter.